Tag Archives: Old Stone House

PODCASTPark Slope – or simply the park slope, as they used to say – is best known for its spectacular Victorian-era mansions and brownstones, one of the most romantic neighborhoods in all of Brooklyn. It’s also a leading example of the gentrifying forces that are currently changing the make-up of the borough of Brooklyn to this day.

During the 18th century this sloping land was subject to one of the most demoralizing battles of the Revolutionary War, embodied today by the Old Stone House, an anchor of this changing neighborhood. In the 1850s, the railroad baron Edwin Clark Litchfield brought the first real estate development to this area in the form of his fabulous villa on the hill. By the 1890s the blocks were stacked with charming house, mostly for occupancy by wealthy families.

Circumstances during the Great Depression and World War II reconfigured most of these old (and old fashioned) homes into boarding houses and working-class housing. Then a funny thing happens, something of a surprising development in the 1960s: the arrival of the brownstoners, self-proclaimed ‘pioneers’ who refurbished deteriorating homes.

The revitalization of Park Slope has been a mixed blessing as later waves of gentrification and rising prices threaten to push out both older residents and original gentrifiers alike.

PLUS: The terrifying details of one of the worst plane crashes in American history, a disaster that almost took out one of the oldest corners of the neighborhood.

And a special thanks to our guests on this show — Kim Maier from the Old Stone House; Julie Golia, Director of Public History, Brooklyn Historical Society; and John Casson and Michael Cairl, both of Park Slope Civic Council.

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The Vechte Cortelyou House (aka the Old Stone House) depicted as it looked in 1699 (from a hand colored lithograph by the firm of Nathaniel Currier, MCNY)

The old Litchfield Village, today located within the borders of Prospect Park. (Postcard dated 1926, MCNY)

One of the most famous 19th century pictures of the park slope area, showing the streets after the Blizzard of 1888. (MCNY)

Down on 9th Street and 5th Avenue was the great old B.F. Keith Prospect Theater, a former film and vaudeville house. This post card is from the 1910s; the theater originally opened in 1914. This type of establishment might not have been welcomed further up the avenues. (MCNY)

The Ansonia Clock Factory — “the world’s largest clock factory” — was located in the South Slope, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, obviously a distance away from the old mansions. Today it’s been converted, like so many things, to luxury condos. (MCNY)

Park Slope in 1915. “The corner of Prospect Park West and 9th Street at the entrance to Prospect Park. Two women with a baby carriage are visible to the right and a mailbox and an apartment building are visible to the left.” (MCNY)

The Montauk Club, playground of Brooklyn’s wealthiest residents. Illustrated here from 1905. (Courtesy Museum of City of New York)

The Warwick Arms on 8th Avenue and 2nd Street, one of the first luxury apartment complexes that moved to Park Slope. (Photo by the Wurts Brothers, courtesy )

A collection of classified ads from the December 1, 1912 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, offering several living options in the park slope area.

The stark Fourteenth Street Armory, located in the South Slope, depicted here as it looked in 1906 — “a pretty place” (MCNY)

Congregation Beth Elohim, pictured here on September 16, 1929, located at Garfield Place and 8th Avenue. (MCNY)

The Edgar Allen Poe Cottage — with horse and buggy! — photographed between 1910-1915. You can visit it as part of Open House New York and even go visit their new visitors center. (Courtesy LOC)

Open House New York is the absolute best time of the year to wander the city and visit dozens of New York City’s greatest historical landmarks and architectural wonders. Unfortunately, reservations for many of those places pretty much filled up within ten minutes.

Never fear, for a great many of the most interesting ones don’t take reservations and are wander-in-as-you-please type venues. Go totheir website or pick up a copy of the Open House schedule and stitch together some great weekend plans.

Trust me, I never, ever remember to make reservations (although, for the first time ever, I actually did get in a couple this year) so I always rely on the free sites. And there are plenty to choose from.

Below are some my personal recommendations, ten must-see stops for your weekend. I’ll be spending my weekend hitting several Open House sites, including some of those listed below. You can follow along with my trek through the city on Twitter (@boweryboys). I’ve also made some podcast listening suggestions below; you can download them from the links, pick them up on iTunes, or stream them on Stitcher and other services.

All the times below are from the Open House New York website. Please check their site before you go for any changes!

Above: One of the first playgrounds in the city, located in the Settlement yard. You’ll see this on your tour. (Pic courtesy Facts on File)

HENRY STREET SETTLEMENTManhattan, Lower East Side, 265 Henry StreetOpen: Saturday only, with free open tours at 10am, 10:45am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 2:15pm, 3:00pm, 3:45pmIf you are anywhere near the Lower East Side this weekend, you owe it to yourself to take a look inside here. The Henry Street Settlement is a landmark medical and social-outreach facility, founded 120 years ago by Lillian Wald to serve the over-crowded immigrant community. You have to see how they’ve stitched together this series of classic old row houses from the inside. Wait until you see Lillian’s sleeping porch! Before you go: Read this profile on the settlement that I wrote last year for the Partners In Preservation program.

NEW YORK MARBLE CEMETERY and NEW YORK CITY MARBLE CEMETERYManhattan, East Village, 41 1/2 Second Avenue and 52-74 2nd StreetOpen: Sat and Sun, 10am-5pmManhattan’s two oldest cemeteries are quiet oases from the street, spacious greens interspersed with the grave and vault markers of New York’s oldest families. Worth a short visit, even if you’ve been before. Do you remember a couple years ago when they found some C-4 explosives in the 2nd Street site?

GRAND LODGE OF MASONSManhattan, Chelsea, 71 West 23rd StreetOpen: Sat and Sun: 11-2pmI think I recommend this every year. Because it’s totally bonkers! These elaborate ceremony rooms dripping in gilded finery will set you imagination ablaze. You’ll need three hands to count the number of pipe organs. Paranoid people or those allergic to decorative pomp should probably avoid.

FIFTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHCLOCK TOWERManhattan, Midtown East, 7 West 55th StreetOpen Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 12:30pm-5pmReservations to the Trinity Church bell tower downtown filled up pretty quickly. But if really, really want to tour a Gothic tower, look no further than this beautiful church’s clock tower, which will be open to those in comfortable shoes. Afterwards, just a few minutes east, go take a look at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden in one of Manhattan’s oldest buildings. (Open Sun 11am-4pm)

FRICK ART REFERENCE LIBRARYManhattan, Upper East Side, 10 East 71st StreetOpen: Sat-Sun Noon-3pm, tours on the hourThere are a lot of great sites open on Fifth Avenue along Central Park. Start with the Central Park Arsenaland later on, proceed up to the Ukrainian Institute of America, theNational Academy Museum and the New York Academy of Medicine, all free. But don’t leave out this new addition to the OHNY calendar, the Frick Art Reference Library, built in 1935 and designed by John Russell Pope (better known for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC). If you spend your afternoon touring all these buildings along Central Park’s east side, you’ll feel instantly smarter.

BROOKLYN ARMY TERMINALBrooklyn, Sunset Park, 140 58th StreetOpen: Saturday 11am-5pmBelieve it or not, this was designed by Cass Gilbert, the same person who gave us the Woolworth Building. Completed in 1919, this was the largest military supply base in the United States through World War II, an awe-inspiring space that today is leased to private tenants.. If industrial architecture fascinates you and you haven’t yet seen this building up close, make this your first stop of the day. (Picture courtesy On The Real NY)Before you go: If you’d like a primer on Gilbert’s early New York work, here’s my article on Gilbert’s three other buildings constructed prior to the Woolworth.

OLD STONE HOUSEBrooklyn, Park Slope, 336 3rd StreetOpen: Sat 9-5pm, Sun 10-5pmThis reconstructed Revolutionary War site is already a favorite for many in the neighborhood. But there’s one particularly fascinating reason to visit this weekend — on Saturday, reinactors in period uniforms will play baseball based upon 1864 rules. The Kings County Fiber Festival will also be taking place. You can never have enough fiber in your diet! (Of the crochet variety, that is.)Before you go: Hear about the history of the Old Stone House in our podcast on New York and the British Invasion 1776. [website] [podcast]

ST. GEORGE THEATREStaten Island, St. George, 35 Hyatt StreetOpen: Sunday only, 10 am-2pm, with a free guided tour at noonA few minutes walk from the ferry terminal, this fabulous old theater was built in 1928 and a few years later purchased by William Fox, the powerful movie executive whose name is attached to 20th Century Fox and the Fox Television Network. The stage is frequently used on television and movies. Were you a fan of NBC’s ‘Smash‘? The faux Marilyn Monroe musical was mounted here.Before you go: Listen to the Bowery Boys podcast on the Staten Island Ferry to learn the origins of the name St. George. [download here] [webpage]

The Trans-World Airlines Flight Center, open this weekend for your intercontinental enjoyment. Pic courtesy Life Magazine.

TWA FLIGHT CENTERQueens, JFK AirportOpen: 11am-4pmYes, this means you’ll have to go to the airport without the benefit of having a vacation attached to it. But if you haven’t see this Eero Saarinen masterpiece up close yet, it’s worth the voyage. One of the most flamboyant examples of modernist architecture still standing, Saarinen’s groovy, bird-like structure embodies a way of thinking about flight and broke the mold for fashionable public spaces. I dare you to come out here dressed as a vintage flight attendant.Before you go: Listen to the Bowery Boys podcast on Idlewild/JFK Airport to discover the secrets to JFK’s ‘charm bracelet’ design. [download here] [webpage]

HINDU TEMPLE SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA (GANESH TEMPLE)Queens, Flushing, 45-57 Bowne StreetOpen: Sat-Sun 8am-9pm, free tours at 12, 1:30, 2:30 4pm One of the most fascinating religious structures in New York, the Ganesh Temple was built in 1970 with granite shrines and imported stone from India. Wandering through with your shoes off is both marvelously peaceful and slightly disorienting. A beautiful, otherworldly gem in the midst of Flushing. And there’s a delicious canteen in the basement.

If we piqued your interest in last week’s episode on Gracie Mansion, this weekend is an excellent opportunity to check it out along with a couple dozen of the oldest and most famous homes in the New York City area.

The Historic House Festival is a weekend long welcome mat to how the other half used to live, with events planned in all five boroughs.

We’ve mentioned most of these places on this blog and on prior podcasts, and now’s your chance to check to them out for free.

The special nighttime tour of Gracie Mansion is TONIGHT (Friday, Sept, 24) Make your reservation by contacting DToole@cityhall.nyc.gov.

If you can’t make that one, there are lots of other locations to recommend, including wine tasting at the Morris-Jumel Mansion and an old-time baseball game (played with 19th century rules) next to the Revolutionary War era Old Stone House.

A great many of these homes made my list A History of New York In 100 Buildings. Read up on the following homes, then go check them out for free this weekend. On top of the aforementioned houses, there’s also the Merchant’s House in Manhattan (home to a ghost), the Wyckoff Farmhouse in Brooklyn, the John Bowne House in Queens, the Voorlezer’s House (part of old Richmondtown) and the Conference House in Staten Island, and the Van Cortlandt House Museum in the Bronx.

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